Illyria's Thanksgiving
by AJeff
Summary: It's Illyria's first thanksgiving.


This was Illyria's first thanksgiving in her new world. As god-king, there were no celebrations of any sort of holidays. Thanksgiving? She did her homework, studied about the holiday, even to a point of renting "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" from the video store. She paced the floor of her living room waiting for Angel to give her a ride to Spike's, who was hosting the dinner. Spike? She chuckled to herself when he extended an invitation to her. Domesticated? Spike?

In her wildest imagination, she never imagined Angel and Spike would befriend her. After Wesley's death, she felt alone in his world. She had no one to turn to. No one to continue the teachings of the human way, of being mortal. Besides Wesley, they too, mourned over Gunn.

In the very beginning, Illyria would just sit in the corner of the laboratory, her head down, weeping silently for her love. Her blue eyes were the color of red from days and nights of crying.

She thought back of how their friendship came about.

Flashback

"Bloody hell," Spike cried out. "Look, Blue, this is what being human is about. People die and we try to move on."

"And if one cannot? What will happen?" She looked up and asked tearfully.

Angel approached them. He spoke softly. "People mourn in different ways, Illyria. Some take longer than others to adjust back to their normal life."

"And what is normal for me? There is no Wesley, he was my only friend. He did like me, did he not?"

"He did." They both answered at the same time.

"Well, I have no one now. No one."

Spike flopped himself on the floor to join her. "Okay, my pet, we're all in this together. It's just the three of us now."

Angel crouched down and gently stroked her long hair.

End Of Flashback

The sound of her doorbell snapped Illyria back into reality.

"Thank you so much for giving me a ride, Angel."

"You look very pretty, Illyria," Angel says surprised he had said that. His eyes focused on the road.

She kept quiet.

"When one gives you a compliment, you say, "thank you."

"Thank you," she answered softly. "As pretty as your Buffy?"

He turned to her and just smiled.

"So, what do you have to be thankful for this thanksgiving?"

"I do not understand. Thankful?"

"Yes. We take turns around the table saying what we're thankful for in our life."

"Oh, I see. Out loud?" She queried.

"Yes, out loud." He laughs.

"Well, it's bloody time you two got here. You took the scenic route? Dinner's ready."

"Hello, Spike, thank you for inviting me."

"Wine, Illyria?" Angel poured her a glass without waiting for an answer.

Her eyes glistened as she roamed around the place.

"Alright, let's sit down to eat. I didn't go through the bloody hell of cooking just for the decor. So, I'll start. Let see, what I'm thankful for? That I didn't have to go to the turkey farm to choose you." He points to the bird.

"Spike!" Angel cautioned him.

"Okay, okay. I'm thankful for having you with me to spend this holiday with. Thankful we've become friends. Boy, we sure had a rough time in the beginning. Okay, blue, you're next."

Illyria shakes her head. "No. I will go last."

"I guess that leaves me." Angel looks at them. "I'm thankful how we've all grown close. It saddens me that Wes and Gunn's no longer with us. I'm thankful for them watching over us. Because, if it wasn't for them, we would have killed each other by now. Hey, I actually enjoy being with you two. Illyria, you're turn."

She was quiet for about a minute, then composed herself. "I...I am so thankful for Spike for making me laugh in my times of sorrow. I thank you, Angel, for your comforting talks. When I first dropped into this world, you were the one I felt were most likely to have wanted me vanquished. I am thankful for my memories of Wesley and hope maybe one day I will feel a love I never got a chance to feel while he was alive. And...I guess that is all. Thank you for having me with you."

"Well, done, Blue. Okay! Dig in." Spike picked up his carving knife and proceeded to cut deeply into the turkey.

Leaning over to Angel, Illyria whispered. "How did I do?"

Angel winked at her. "You did well, Illyria. You did well. Happy Thanksgiving."

"Happy thanksgiving to you too, Angel."


End file.
